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eBay will authenticate sneakers from resellers
Experts will verify all US sales over $100 by early 2021.
Fraud forces Valve to kill ‘CS:GO’ loot box key trading
Valve's policy of allowing Counter Strike: Global Offensive players to buy and re-sell keys to access in-game loot boxes is no more. The company has announced that the marketplace has apparently been taken over by large fraud networks as a way of laundering money. On the CS:GO blog, an unnamed staffer wrote that "nearly all key purchases that end up being traded or sold on the marketplace are believed to be fraud-sourced."
G2A proposes blocking tool to deal with shady game key resales
G2A still has a problem with sketchy game key resales, to the point where developers like Mike Rose have suggested that it would be better to pirate games instead. The site thinks it has a way to mitigate the problem, though. It's proposing a tool that would let verified developers block certain game keys from sale. They'd just have to paste the keys into a control panel to remove them from sale. In theory, this would prevent unscrupulous resellers from peddling keys they've obtained through bogus review requests and giveaways rigged using bots.
Bethesda threatens lawsuit over sale of secondhand game
You can legally resell your personal games in the US under the First Sale Doctrine, which allows resales of copyrighted media like discs so long as you don't modify them in any substantial way. However, Bethesda doesn't think that applies if the shrink wrap is still present -- the publisher recently threatened to sue gamer Ryan Hupp for listing an unopened PS4 copy of The Evil Within 2 on Amazon Marketplace when he realized he didn't need that version of the game. As Hupp explained to Polygon, Bethesda's law firm viewed the listing as "unlawful" because he was not only unauthorized to resell new copies, but had rendered the game "materially different" by not including the original warranty.
Disney’s lawsuit against Redbox may have backfired
Disney's attempt to prevent Redbox from buying its discs for rental and resale may have blown up in the House of Mouse's face. The Hollywood Reporter describes how District Court Judge Dean Pregerson sided with Redbox to shoot down a Disney-mandated injunction. In addition, Pregerson contended that Disney may itself be misusing copyright law to protect its interests and its own forthcoming streaming service.
Tesla no longer guarantees your electric car's resale value
Tesla introduced its Resale Value Guarantee in 2013, when buying an upscale electric car was a riskier prospect. What if your Model S was worth less than a tried-and-true German sedan? However, the market has clearly grown up since then... and Tesla is changing accordingly. The automaker tells The Verge that it has discontinued the program for any new car bought in the US after July 1st. The move will reduce interest rates "as low as possible" and sweeten leases and loans, a spokesperson says. You're still protected if you bought a car under the guarantee, but any relative latecomers will just have to trust that the used EV market will work in their favor.
Game studio claims it lost $450,000 to key resales
Game key resales are theoretically ideal for players -- you can buy that must-have title at a discount from someone who wasn't going to use it anyway. However, SpeedRunners publisher TinyBuild would beg to differ. It's accusing G2A of facilitating a black market in game keys that amounted to $450,000 in potential lost sales at retail prices. The studio maintains that G2A is refusing proper help (including compensation) after fraudsters bought keys from the TinyBuild store using stolen credit cards and posted them on G2A, making a tidy profit while TinyBuild made nothing. Supposedly, the only way to get help would be to forge a deal with G2A itself and undercut its own retail partners in order to compete with the bootleggers. Simply blacklisting a range of keys wasn't an option, either.
Lawsuit demands the right to resell Steam games
One of the biggest gripes about downloadable games (unless you're a developer) is that you can't typically resell them -- that title is yours forever, even if you'll never play it again. French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir is doing something about it, though. It's suing Valve to demand resales for Steam games. Its policy violates the European Union's right to resell legally purchased software, according to the group. As proof, it points to a 2012 Oracle case where a judge ruled that there was no difference between reselling disc-based copies and their downloaded equivalents.
Fast2Play hosting sales of Steam keys from Humble Bundles
Having a great Saturday where everything feels right in the world? Well uh, sorry, but we might derail that train of contentment. Game Informer reports that 7 Entertainment's online storefront Fast2Play and sister site Kinguin are hosting the sale of Steam keys purchased through Humble Bundles. Given that Humble Bundle patrons typically split their payment between the bundle's game developers, charities and the Humble Bundle staff, those groups would be cut from the profits made on resold keys. The Humble Bundle's terms also state that its licenses are not meant for commercial use, making the resale of keys obtained through Humble Bundles a violation of those terms. Ed Key, a developer of Proteus, told Game Informer that he was able to confirm Fast2Play's selling of Steam keys obtained from Humble Bundle purchases. Key discovered this by purchasing Proteus through Fast2Play, then comparing that Steam key to an inventory that had been sold through Humble Indie Bundle 8. Key has since succeeded in having Proteus removed from Fast2Play and some of its sister sites. Game Informer points out that Fast2Play is also hosting sales of Steam Gift versions of Awesomenauts and The Binding of Isaac. While that doesn't affect charitable proceeds, Steam Support states that "any accounts tied to a redeemed gift from a fraudulent source may be suspended." This possibility is noted in the "Activations Details" section of its Steam Gift sales, which asks customers to "please remember you are doing it at your own risk!" A 7 Entertainment representative has responded to the story, explaining that it was "never in our intention to expose any indie developer to any financial losses." The representative states that Fast2Play is an e-store with products from official suppliers, adding that it's awaiting an explanation from the distributor of the involved codes. The representative also described Kinguin as "an Ebay for gamers," explaining that Kinguin itself does not own those keys. [Image: Fast2Play]
Gazelle, Apple, security, and your iPhone
When you're done with your iPhone -- whether it's getting replaced by a new model or suffered some sort of damage that warrants a replacement -- it's always good to get the most out of it. There are a rising number of companies that want your used iDevices in exchange for cash, but most people are uncomfortable with even their friends or family members snooping around on their phones, much less a company. Gazelle is one of the most recognizable names in this growing business. I've always wondered exactly what happens to a device once you send it off to a company like Gazelle -- from where the gadget eventually ends up to how it deals with stolen devices, and what security measures it takes to ensure the used phones and tablets leave its hands crystal clean -- so I asked. What happens to your iDevice? If you've ever dealt with Gazelle, you know that the company can't guarantee you a price for your iPhone or iPad until it has seen it in person. On the company's website you can get a quote based on the model of your device, carrier, and estimated condition, but that price isn't officially offered until you've sent your gadget to the company's facility in Louisville. Once the device arrives, it's unpacked and its data is wiped. Users are obviously encouraged to wipe their data before sending their phones or tablets in, but to ensure nothing is missed, Gazelle does it again. For iPhones and iPads, Gazelle uses both the built-in data wipe feature to clear the device, as well as data sanitation software from California-based FutureDial. The device's serial number is checked against a nationwide database of devices that have been reported stolen, thwarting criminals looking to make a quick buck. When a flag is raised during this check, the information is handed over to local law enforcement. But as easy a target as smartphones and tablets seem to be, the number of stolen Apple gadgets that come through Gazelle's doors is actually quite small. Gazelle's Chief Gadget Officer, Anthony Scarsella, revealed that less than 1% of all devices sent to Gazelle have been reported stolen. When Gazelle receives a broken phone or tablet -- which, according to the company, is approximately 30% to 40% of its business -- it works with a refurbishing partner to repair it, at which point it is wiped like all the rest. If your gadget is too busted to be salvaged, the only option is to have it recycled. For this, Gazelle uses CloudBlue, an e-waste disposal company with processing facilities located across the United States and around the world. CloudBlue was one of the first organizations to receive e-Stewards Certification, marking it as a leader in responsible e-waste management. Finding a new home Once your iPhone or iPad makes its way through Gazelle's processing facility, and long after you've gotten your payment, the recycled devices often find their way to the hands of a reseller. Gazelle sells its used devices in wholesale numbers, and along with hundreds or thousands of others, your iDevice eventually gets listed on a site like eBay as a used device looking for a new lease on life. If you've ever wondered how a popular merchant on Amazon or eBay gets its hands on endless numbers of used iDevices, now you have your answer. BFFs: Apple and Gazelle It's clear that Apple has become the primary focus for Gazelle in recent years, with the company changing its resale efforts to focus almost exclusively on Apple products. Where Gazelle once accepted everything from Blu-ray players to camcorders, the list of accepted devices now much smaller, and the only types of computers allowed are Macs. Due to rapidly-shifting trade-in trends, the company couldn't reveal to me the breakdown of what percentage of devices it handles are Apple-branded. However, I did find out that Gazelle's Lousiville processing facility reached its peak employment volume following the release of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, pointing to the company's close relationship with Apple's product cycles. The folks at Gazelle were very open about their process, and if the company is sticking with the process it described to me, it seems to be acting in an environmentally responsible and socially conscious way. Its decision to focus on Apple products means it's likely to remain a major player in the resale scene for the foreseeable future. However, with greater numbers of iPhone and iPad users looking to get ride of their gadgets for a few bucks, and companies like Amazon looking for their own slice of the pie, Gazelle certainly has a healthy dose of competition. [Photos courtesy of Gazelle]
There are 8,000 Xbox One listings on eBay, 12,000 sold since Nov. 1
Users on eBay have sold 12,000 Xbox One consoles since November 1, with 7,000 of those sales during launch weekend, November 22 - 24. There are currently 8,000 Xbox One listings on eBay, the site says. Generally these consoles sell for more than the retail price of $500 because that's how this resale thing works. Microsoft sold 1 million Xbox Ones in the console's first 24 hours – and now we know at least 12,000 of those have already been recycled in the second-hand market.
Appeals court denies ReDigi appeal, says music downloads can't be resold
ReDigi took a gamble that it could resell legally purchased song downloads, much as you would that one-hit wonder CD you bought in high school. Unfortunately for ReDigi, the odds weren't ultimately in its favor: a Southern District of New York court has shot down ReDigi's appeal against a Capitol Records lawsuit accusing it of copyright infringement. The court didn't accept ReDigi's view that first sale principles apply to strictly digital music, at least as its service implements the technology. While the startup tries to keep traders honest by making them delete originals after a resale, the process by its digital nature still involves making a copy of the track without Capitol's permission, according to the court. We'll have to wait to know what penalties ReDigi might pay, but there's enough legal precedent in the case that it's doubtful others will follow in the service's experimental footsteps.
Gazelle Chief Gadget Officer looks at resale trends, sees the end of the iPod
Anthony Scarsella is the Chief Gadget Officer at Gazelle, the online equipment repurposing company. Every quarter Scarsella publishes his reCommerce Report, a look at trends that the company is seeing in terms of devices submitted to Gazelle for recycling and resale. Among the fascinating stats in the Q1 2013 report is that the company saw a huge increase of almost 80 percent in iPod trades in December and January, leading Scarsella to speculate that we're beginning to see the "end of the iPod." What's killing Apple's music player? To quote Scarsella, "When first unveiled in October 2001, many were astonished with the ability to have over 1,000 songs sitting in your pocket. Fast-forward almost 12 years later and we have the iPhone, iPad, iCloud, streaming, 4G and WiFi. Although the iPod is still around, the smartphone has become an easy replacement for the basic MP3 player from Apple." The trend of high iPod trades has "remained fairly steady since February," indicating that as more smartphones are activated, more users are looking to Gazelle and similar companies to get cash for equipment they no longer need. One other fascinating piece of information is that resale value of the iPhone leapt to record levels -- even for broken equipment -- and that devices from other manufacturers like Samsung are also beginning to hold their value over time. That wasn't the case several years ago, when a broken iPhone was often more valuable than a working Android device of similar age.
Apple patents system that lets iTunes users loan, resell their content
Apple has been awarded a patent that, if ever implemented, would be a dream come true for iTunes users. The patent titled "Managing access to digital content items" was discovered by AppleInsider and details an implementation that would allow iTunes users to loan or resell items they purchased from the iTunes store. These items could include books, movies, music and TV shows. The patent describes the ability for users to loan or sell "used" content to another person by effectively transferring their rights of ownership to them. An actual file transfer would not be necessary. For example, if a user wanted to sell a used copy of Finding Nemo, he or she would notify the iTunes Store of their forfeiture of rights to that copy and identify the new owner. The new owner could then download a copy of Finding Nemo for free. There is no evidence in the patent that Apple is considering a used marketplace in the iTunes Store. Any payment for used items would be dealt with outside of iTunes. What the patent allows for is essentially a rights-management database a user has control of. Content creators could also impose limits over the original owner's ability to transfer in this way. For example, a book publisher could say that an original owner is not allowed to resell or give away their rights to an e-book they purchased for at least 12 months past the book's original date of publication. Apple's technology would double check that a user's request meets all the requirements of the content creators and would accept or reject a digital rights management transfer request based on those parameters. If Apple does implement the system described in this patent, it would address an issue that's bothered some users ever since digital music purchases became the norm instead of physical media like CDs. Namely, in a world were digital purchases are tied to one user's account, how do we pass on our media like books, music and movies to our relatives or friends? This issue has arisen frequently in the last few years when someone with a large iTunes collection passes away and there is no easy way to transfer their legally owned content on to the next of kin. As exciting and extensive as this patent is, readers should keep in mind that Apple patents many things that never see the light of day. However, as this patent addresses significant and important ownership issues in the digital age, let's hope it comes to fruition soon.
Why original iPads still sell well
Back when it first shipped in 2010, the original iPad was considered a miracle of modern technology. As with most consumer electronic devices, though, the minute its successor -- the iPad 2 -- was out the door, the original iPad was shunned for the shinier, faster models. But as Wired Enterprise blogger Robert McMillan reports today, original iPads are not only keeping their value, but they're really quite the bargain for a big screen tablet. Wired performed a study and found that used first-generation iPads are selling well, often at a price tag about US$100 less than a comparable iPad mini. The study quoted Nicholas Fiorentino of Totem, a used equipment reseller in San Diego, as saying "We are shocked at how well the iPad has held its value thus far. There are a lot of people who don't need all the bells and whistles that the iPad 2 and iPad 3 have." At this point, a first-generation Wi-Fi iPad with 16 GB of storage sells for an average price of $236. That same device sold for $499 in April of 2010, meaning that it's retained almost half of its value. Wired compares that to a Lenovo T410 ThinkPad, which came out at about the same time at $1,270 -- used ThinkPads are now available on eBay for about $300, having lost about three-quarters of their value. It's expected that the price of an original iPad will drop to about $50 within four years, making the device an irresistible buy for tech-savvy bargain hunters.
The iPad 3rd-gen's "miraculous transformation" from magical device to object of shame
Anyone who buys Apple products will eventually experience deep frustration with Apple the company. It's inevitable and predictable, and usually brief. It also disproportionately affects those who consider themselves loyalists, fans and enthusiasts -- those of us who bleed six colors, as it were. The sense of a personal relationship, a bargain or a deal with the brand is what makes the perceived offenses feel so personal. They aren't, of course, but that's how we feel. As was the case with the original iPhone's dramatic price cut two months after launch, the company's response is often simply "that's technology." Things are going to change quickly, and from time to time that means early adopters or may experience some mild turbulence. To my mind, that's a different (and lesser) sort of anxiety than the "Apple is messing with my livelihood" freakout over Final Cut Studio's evaporation making way for Final Cut X, but the core feeling is the same: "We had a deal, Apple, and you betrayed us." That sense of betrayal is quite strong right now, as the iPad 4th generation's introduction has set the teeth of some v3 buyers on edge. Apple may or may not be taking a lenient stance on upgrades; we noted yesterday the reports of a discretionary policy in allowing up to 30 days for iPad 3rd-gen exchanges. Early adopter regret is clearly evident in our former TUAW colleague Christina Warren's op-ed for Mashable, where she shares both denial and anger over the introduction of the fourth generation full-size iPad only seven months after she bought a maxed-out 3rd generation Retina iPad. I have nothing but fondness and respect for Christina, and I don't doubt the sincerity of her personal reaction to having her 3rd-gen iPad lose both bragging rights and resale value. But let's recap her relationship to new technology, in her own words: "I'm an early adopter. Most iPad 3 owners won't consider doing anything with their iPad 3; they'll keep using it until it stops working (or the new iPad 5 is released in six months), so I recognize this is a specific rant. Still, people like me are Apple's most loyal customers. Eventually, this sort of thing tends to trickle down to everyone else." Perhaps the "trickle-down" frustration from fans to customers was valid back when Apple sold expensive computers to a tiny fraction of the PC market. Maybe it was even true when iPods began to break out to the wider consumer electronics landscape. For the Apple of today -- the massive, mass-market behemoth -- it's simply irrelevant. The pattern of early adoption, resale and racing on to the next new thing that Christina describes in her piece makes her a stark outlier among Apple's modern-day worldwide customer base; likewise, the angry, frustrated "loyal Apple users" who are now so aggrieved about the quick refresh of the iPad represent a tiny minority of the consumers who have purchased those 100 million iPads (to say nothing of the education and enterprise buyers, who are still buying iPad 2s by the pallet). Most of the argument in favor of feeling aggrieved and shortchanged by the quick iPad turn coalesces around expectations. Apple "always" releases one new iPad per year; it's "always" in the spring; the sun "always" rises in the east. Of course, this attitude confuses patterns with promises; they are different things. Did customer expectations get confounded by the release of a newer iPad model less than a year after the previous one? Yep. Was this yearly tick-tock something Apple ever committed to preserving in perpetuity? Not at all. People make plans and purchases based on certain assumptions (or by asking one of their tech-savvy friends); when those assumptions turn out to be unfounded, they may be upset. But their assumptions are not Apple's problem, except insofar as they express their frustration by not buying Apple products. Which, we must acknowledge, they are free to do -- their protest move will simply lessen the overwhelming pre-order demand and inevitable sellout delays on the 4th gen iPad by a tiny fraction of a percent. Of course, feelings aren't about rational utility and Econ 101; iPad 3 owners are entitled to have the reactions they have, and no amount of arguing will change that. But even a casual review of the engineering and marketing circumstances indicates that the short-cycle iPad refresh was the least evil of Apple's options here. In her frustration over the new iPad, Christina detours into an appraisal of the platonic ideal iPad 3 and a half that Apple "should have released" back in March. "In many ways," she writes, "this [fourth generation iPad] is the product Apple should have released as the iPad 3. I understand chips might not have been ready, pricing might not have been ideal -- but seriously, this is clearly what the iPad 3 should have been." Well, sure, chips might not have been ready. But release it anyway -- engineering be dashed! No, wait, sorry, that doesn't make any sense. We can't on the one hand castigate Apple for releasing an iPad 3rd-gen that was underpowered for its HiDPI display and lacked the Lightning port and then on the other hand admit that those upgraded components weren't actually production-ready. We can wish for things to be ready when we want them, but unfortunately technology doesn't work quite like that. But even if we were to give this position the benefit of every doubt -- assume that Apple had the 4th-gen iPad on the shelf shrinkwrapped and ready to go, but chose to release the 3rd-gen anyway -- there's one huge reason why it had to be that way. Let's suppose that Phil Schiller and his marketing team were well aware of Christina's yet-to-be-realized frustration back in March of this year, and indeed for many months before that (knowing, as we do, that Apple's product development cycles cover years rather than weeks). Assume as well that the iPhone 5 launch date couldn't shift forward to let it hit with the iPad 3/4 in March. What could Apple do? "Let's go ahead and ship the Lightning version of the iPad now," says Phil, "and we'll catch up with the iPhone 5 in September." Our imaginary Phil Schiller is then forcibly removed from Apple's Cupertino campus, never to darken its doors again. Why? Because when you have a single product with revenues that handily surpass the GDP of Ecuador, you do. Not. Mess with that. The iPhone may look like a smartphone, but it is actually a revenue machine. Every single decision Apple makes today has to be framed against the question "is it good for the iPhone?" If not, it simply does not happen. Somewhere down the line the creative destruction instincts will kick back in and Apple will design its own iPhone killer, but right now every quarter's results and more than 2/3rds of Apple's dollars depend on the iPhone's desirability in the market. Introducing a Lightning-based iPad six months before the iPhone 5 announcement fails that test. Showing the new interface port would make every iPhone sale between March and September much, much harder -- consumers could not suspend their disbelief, knowing as they would that they were getting something soon to be outdated. Even though the blogosphere had begun to show convincing examples of the Lightning port as early as May, a tentative hint is worlds away from "Here's the new iPad, and as you may notice it's got a different connector. Hey, where'd you all go?" That's two quarters down the tubes, and millions of customers lost to other mobile ecosystems. iPad sales are nice, but they're not the franchise; iPhone is the franchise. Note that when Apple introduces dramatic new technologies nowadays, they inevitably come to the iPhone first. Siri? iPhone. Lightning? iPhone. Retina? iPhone -- and that's before it got to the MacBook Pro, for goodness' sakes. iCloud and LTE have some wiggle room on this; one reason LTE hit the iPad before the iPhone is that it's much easier to solve power problems if you're engineering a device that is basically a giant battery with a screen glued to it, and it's not an Apple innovation (in fact the iPhone was quite a ways behind the market). Why not just wait, then, and hold back on the iPad refresh more than seven months until after the iPhone 5 is launched? Because if you're going to confound those customer expectations of annual upgrades one way or another, doing it by delaying the new & improved product is the wrong way to go if you're Apple. The iPad 2 had run its course as the flagship by the beginning of 2012, and there was enough value in the 3rd-gen (Siri, LTE, and that luscious Retina display) to retake the tablet lead, especially with Surface, Amazon and Android beginning to sniff at the iPad's heels. Apple would rather give people something good right now and better later, instead of lamely claiming that the iPad 2 is still the best thing going well past its sell-by date. No, given the choice of waiting or pushing out the 3rd-gen, Apple made the right call. Often, when we look to justify our anger, we step to righteousness: it's not about me, it's about how this is bad for Apple. Christina's worry is that consumers now will be gunshy about buying into new iPads if they think the new one is coming within moments. She's not convinced that the quick turn is an aberration; she worries that sub-annual iPad refreshes may now be the norm. "If that upgrade cycle is compressed," she says, "I believe some consumers may just choose to continue waiting. Take iPad 2 owners, for example. Rather than running to upgrade to an iPad 4 this Christmas, I could see some owners choosing to wait. After all, what if Apple releases a new tablet in April? Or June? Why not just wait? Wait too long and you're up against the next refresh cycle. Now Apple has missed recapturing that customer in a fiscal year. That's a bad thing." Another cognitive miss here: a broken pattern can in fact be an exception to the reigning rule rather than an example of a new rule. As one of the commenters on Christina's piece points out, just because this iPad came early that doesn't mean the next one will; in fact, given the lifespan of the original iPod 30-pin connector, it could be a decade before Apple is ready to move past Lightning to the next big thing. Calling a reset and shifting the annual upgrade cycle for the iPad to September from March actually means better uptake for the holiday sales rush, not worse. There are some real fiscal consequences to the early upgrade for those who were not planning to hold onto their iPads indefinitely. Christina rightly points out that iPad 3 owners who were expecting to resell their devices are now facing far lower returns than they "reasonably" might have expected to get. While iPads bought over the past two or four weeks may be exchangeable, people who were depending on resale arbitrage have gotten shorted on their bet. This, too, gets chalked up to the difference between patterns and promises. Nobody guaranteed that your spend on that iPad 3 would be recoverable -- expecting to get some fixed percentage of your money back on the device is entirely on you. It certainly is frustrating, but it's not at all clear that it can be pinned down as Apple's fault. Apple sold you an iPad so you could use it as an iPad, not as an investment vehicle. There are also hints of a valid argument in the notion that the 3rd-gen iPad is actually not a fully baked product, with issues of heat, weight and speed. You can bounce this back and forth, but the fact is that if you were happy with your iPad 3 last week then the failings and flaws you see now are entirely driven by your awareness of the new shiny thing, not by any realistic standard of performance. Again, I don't want to delegitimize the frustration that these folks feel -- feelings are always valid. It's when we reject ownership of our feelings and decide to pin them on something outside our control that things get slippery. Taking the irate stance that Apple's shafted you personally by introducing something new "too soon" may be an understandable reaction. But it's not reasonable to blame Apple for acting in its own best interests, and nothing here suggests that there was something else the company could have done to prevent the marginal pain. Also, in terms of relative utility, if it needs to be said: The iPad 3rd-gen you bought in March, April or May is every bit as functional now as it was last week; it runs the same apps, shows the same videos and docks with the same peripherals (something that the new 4th-gen iPad, for the record, cannot yet do). Christina's argument that the "high-end games" will now target the 4th-gen is a hypothesis, not evidence; iOS and the vast majority of apps will continue to support the 3rd-gen and the iPad 2 for quite some time to come. Millions of users are still happily using their original iPads, and they may not know or care that anyone is torqued about having a 3rd-gen that's no longer top of the charts. Let's also remember that this is an iPad, not a heart transplant. We're talking about something that many may want but nobody needs, after all. Having the luxury of buying a new iPad -- whether it's once a year, every two years, every six months, whenever -- is a remarkable thing in itself, and an opportunity that billions of people will never have. Including, most likely, the people that built the very iPad you're pining for. You can read some other savvy reactions to the 3rd gen/4th gen transition from Don McAllister, Fraser Spiers and Harry Marks.
More iPhone and iPad trade-in suggestions
After posting about Apple's PowerON partnership for trade-ins, I was contacted by several parties who hoped I could give their services a mention (all prices are USD). Sarah Hahn of Allison PR represents Glyde, a service she says pays out up to $460 for a 64GB 4S versus the max $345 available through PowerON. That's a huge difference, and we recommend caution when dealing with any vendor whose prices seem too good to be true. Ashley Halberstadt of Blast Media points to NextWorth, which offers both cash and gift-card trade-in options. Their price lock guarantee will extend through October 1st. Their 64GB 4S trade-in is going for $351. TUAW readers also chimed in with thoughts and advice. Reader mindflayer writes that he sold his to GameStop. "Cash in hand, more money offered than Gazelle." Chris Braden went with eBay instead. "I had a great experience with eBay instant sale when the new iPad came out," he wrote. "They ran a promotion where I got a lot more money than anywhere else, and I did the whole transaction with my phone." Smythe Richbourg used NextWorth. "It worked like a charm, and I got a decent price. Looking at what they're paying now, however, the prices are not too good. eBay is much better, since you get what the market will bear. I've sold both my original iPad 16 GB ($200 - sold in less than 2 minutes!) and an iPhone 4 32 GB ($400 - sold in a few days) there in the past few months, for about twice what the buy-back sites were offering." James Winder had some advice for UK readers. "I live in the UK and for the last couple of years I've mostly used a company called CEX (Computer Exchange) to sell old iPhones to. You can get a price for your particular phone straight away online and then go into the store and receive cash for it. I usually buy a new iPhone first, set it up and then when I'm happy with it I wipe and cash in the old one." He mentions that, at least in the UK, independent pawn shops give much better prices for iPhones than the larger companies and carriers. He adds, "Oh and a lot of friends always pop up on Facebook offering phones for sale around the time a new one comes out and usually don't have trouble selling them to other friends." Got some trade-in/reselling advice? Drop a note in the comments.
The Engadget Interview: GameStop CEO Paul Raines talks tablets, OUYA and the MVNO that never was
Looking to unload your unwanted gaming gear? You're probably on your way to GameStop. As the largest dedicated video game retailer in the world, it's hard to imagine a games enthusiast who hasn't browsed its wares a time or two. Over the last few years, however, the firm has been expanding outside of retail sales -- dipping its fingers into digital distribution, streaming and even phones and tablets. The brick-and-mortar store even seemed to be flirting with building a mobile network. With all these changes underfoot and a new console cycle just around the corner, it seemed like a good time to catch up with GameStop CEO Paul Raines to get some perspective.
EU clears resales of used software, shoots down Oracle's new-sales-only dreams
One advantage American technology fans can celebrate is the right to resell software. After the initial purchase, they're usually cleared to pass along any apps or games as long as the technology itself allows. Europeans haven't had that (legal) option to date, but the EU's Court of Justice has just ruled in a case against Oracle that they will going forward: no matter what the license says, those in EU countries can resell their downloaded apps as long as they don't try to keep a working copy for themselves. The new owner doesn't even have to shuffle over a local example and can go straight to the source. We can't imagine that Oracle and other companies averse to used software are jumping for joy, although copy protection and a lack of digital resale mechanisms might help them simmer down and let us treat our apps like we do our gadgets. [Image credit: Maciej Bliziński, Flickr]
EU ruling forces digital distribution to allow game transfers, may lead to legal account sales
If you're completely done with your account for a game, you may be tempted to sell it... but doing so usually nets you the wrath of the publisher and a ban on the account, rendering it useless. But that may be changing in the near future. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled today that publishers must allow the resale of digital licenses for software by the user, regardless of what was stated in the original EULA for the game. While the precise wording might be confusing for those members of the audience not versed in legalese, the upshot is that services such as Steam must allow a way for users to sell their existing games to others, even if the EULA forbids it. This precedent could easily extend to resale of game accounts, since the key used to activate your Star Wars: The Old Republic account qualifies as a license enabling play of the game. No word yet on whether or not this will extend to the US, where many of the game companies in question are based.
